1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet material winding core for winding a sheet material or sheet materials, such as photosensitive material(s) or image receiving material(s), around an outer periphery thereof. (Herein, "sheet material" is intended to mean both plural sheet materials and a single, continuous sheet material.)
2. Description of the Related Art
An image recording apparatus, which records images by using image recording materials such as photosensitive materials and image receiving materials, is known.
In such an image recording apparatus, the photosensitive material and the image receiving material are wound in roll form and housed in magazines whose interiors are shielded from light. The material is nipped by drawing-out rollers and drawn out successively each time an image recording process is performed. Moreover, an exposure section, for exposing an image onto the photosensitive material, and a water applying section, for applying an image forming solvent onto the photosensitive material on which the image was exposed, are provided in the image recording apparatus. Further, a thermal development transfer section is provided next to the water applying section. Moreover, a plurality of guide plates and transport rollers are provided between the exposure section, the water applying section and the thermal development transfer section so as to interconnect the respective sections.
While the photosensitive material, which has been drawn-out from the magazine and cut to a predetermined length, is nipped and conveyed by the transport rollers, an image is exposed thereon. Then, water, which serves as an image forming solvent, is applied onto the photosensitive material in the water-applying section. Thereafter, the photosensitive material is conveyed into the thermal development transfer section. On the other hand, the image receiving material is drawn out of the magazine to a predetermined length and is cut in a manner similar to the photosensitive material, and is transported by the transport rollers into the thermal development transfer section synchronously with the photosensitive material. In the thermal development transfer section, the photosensitive material to which water was applied and the image receiving material are superposed together. While the photosensitive material and the image receiving material are being conveyed in this state, the photosensitive material is thermally developed and the image is transferred onto the image receiving material. As a result, a predetermined image is formed (recorded) on the image receiving material. Thereafter, the photosensitive material is separated from the image receiving material, and the image receiving material on which the image was recorded is taken out of the apparatus.
In such a conventional image recording apparatus, since the photosensitive materials separated from the image receiving materials as mentioned above are disposed of, the photosensitive materials should be collected. A structure has been conceived in which the photosensitive materials, which were separated from the image receiving materials, are successively wound around an outer periphery of a pipe-shaped winding core so as to be collected.
When the photosensitive materials are wound around such a winding core so as to be collected, they can be collected efficiently in a small space. Moreover, after the photosensitive materials, which were coated with water, are heated and are separated from the image receiving materials, the photosensitive materials may curl. However, when the photosensitive materials are wound around the winding core, they can be collected regardless of whether they curl. Thus, there is no need for countermeasures such as providing a presser plate for preventing curling, or corrugating the photosensitive material itself in order to improve the stiffness thereof, or the like, thereby simplifying the structure and lowering the cost.
After the sheet materials such as photosensitive materials are wound around the winding core so as to be collected in the aforementioned manner, needless to say, it is necessary to separate the winding core from the sheet materials wound thereon.
However, after the sheet materials such as photosensitive materials have been wound in layers around the winding core in the aforementioned manner, it is difficult to separate (pull out) only the winding core from the sheet materials which were wound and closely layered thereon. Therefore, a countermeasure to overcome this drawback is desired.